Parenting Chats
by melbelle310
Summary: Phil Coulson and Cabe Gallo discuss their parenting techniques when the Scorpion team meets S.H.I.E.L.D.


**Parenting Chats**

 **Summary:** Phil Coulson and Cabe Gallo discuss their parenting techniques when the Scorpion team meets SHIELD.

 **Author's Note:** Originally inspired by a post on tumblr, I actually wrote most of this over the summer during my children's literacy class, but I never got around to finishing it or to typing it up until recently. I just finished my student teaching placement, so I'm currently celebrating my newly found free time by doing some writing, reading, and watching TV. I still have a few more weeks of classes for this semester, but now that I'm not in the classroom full-time, it's a little bit easier. Anyway, enough about me – enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own either Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Scorpion

"Talk to me, Fitz," Coulson ordered as the plane jolted again. Fitz swiped his finger across his tablet.

"I've never seen these kind of readings before, sir. We'll have to land so I can take a closer look," Fitz asserted. Coulson ran to the intercom box.

"May, what's your status? Can you get us back to base?" he asked.

"We need to land!" Fitz argued from across the room.

"Fitz is right," May agreed, preparing to descend. "Strap in." The team rushed to find seats, and Skye flashed back to her earliest days on the bus, when she had begun to transform from a hacktivist to an Agent.

* * *

"Gear up," Cabe ordered as he entered the garage. "We've got a plane down 15 miles outside the city. Word is they've got highly confidential tech onboard. Apparently, they won't let anyone but you lot get on board to fix it."

"Ralph, you need to stay with me the whole time, do you understand?" Paige added, recognizing that they wouldn't have time to wait for a sitter. Ralph grabbed his backpack and ran out to the van. The rest of the team chased after him, equally excited. Cabe, the last in the group to leave the garage, locked up quickly before he jumped into the van and started the engine.

"Seatbelts, everyone!"

* * *

"You sure about this team, Fitz?" Coulson checked as the black van pulled up to the edge of the open field where the S.H.I.E.L.D. team's bus had crash-landed.

"Sir, do you want to get back to base by nightfall?" Simmons countered. "These are the only people who can help us with the calibrations we need to get off the ground." Coulson walked forward as the Scorpion team stepped out of the van. Across the field, Paige and Cabe set out to meet him. Ralph trotted along beside them.

"Agent Cabe Gallo, Homeland Security," Cabe introduced. "This is Paige and her son Ralph."

"Phil Coulson," Coulson replied. "Appreciate you guys coming out."

"We're happy to be here," Paige chimed in.

"Let's not waste any time," Coulson decided. He motioned for the rest of their team to join them. Walter led the group across the field. Following a stern glance from Paige, Walter held out a hand for Coulson to shake. Paige smiled proudly at the simple act.

"So we doing this?" Happy checked, excited at the possibility of working on the ship across the field. Coulson and Cabe laughed at her enthusiasm, and Coulson led the guests to where Fitz, Simmons, and Skye stood, waiting for the work to begin. Before Coulson or Cabe could begin to make the introductions, the two teams began to mingle excitedly. May and Ward joined the rest of the group.

"I've read your latest research, and I was wondering how you accounted for-" Sylvester began to ask Simmons.

"I heard your team caught the glitch in-" Skye admired, talking to Walter and Toby.

"I never would have thought to adjust that valve!" Fitz exclaimed as he and Happy poured over his tablet.

"Team!" Cabe called out, cutting through the conversations. "Fix first, schmooze later." Fitz led the two teams to the engine and its computers. May, Cabe and Coulson bung back. "Feels like wrangling squirming kids sometimes," Cabe laughed when they were out of earshot.

"They're a unique bunch," Coulson agreed. "How did you manage to put that group together? Fitz said they're a bunch of geniuses."

"They put themselves together, really. I've known Walter since he was a little boy. He hacked NASA's servers."

"Don't tell Skye that or she'll give it a try," May chided.

"Right now, my focus is on explaining to Fitz why he can't have monkey," Coulson replied.

"Why don't you just get him a toy monkey?" Cabe suggested. "That's what we did for Sylvester."

"You got him a toy monkey?" Coulson checked.

"No – we got him a Super Fun Guy action figure set."

"I hate to interrupt," Paige called from the entrance to the plane, "but we may have a problem." Cabe and Coulson glanced at each other quickly before they took off at a run with May at their heels. They found the two teams shouting up at Happy, who hung from the rafters, a wrench in her teeth.

"Happy!" Cabe shouted, turning all attention to him. "Get down from there before you give Paige a heart attack!"

"I can't exactly do that," she argued, struggling to speak without dropping the tool she held firmly in her mouth.

"Fitzsimmons?" Coulson asked, inviting them to explain.

"She really can't come down, sir," Simmons confirmed.

"At least not until we find the piece that fell," Fitz added.

"The good news is that once we find it and reattach it, all we have to do is recalibrate the main engine's computer and you'll be good to go," Walter piped up, completely focused on the task as always.

"I got it!" a small voice called from around the corner. "It rolled over here!" The teams ran to the source of the sound. Ralph squeezed out from the crevice in which he had spotted the piece, greeted by cheers from the geniuses around him and quiet sighs of relief from Paige, May, and Simmons. Toby lifted Ralph onto his shoulders in celebration as they walked back to where Happy still hung. Fitzsimmons got the dwarfs ready for their task, placing the bolt in the secure grasp of one as the others prepared to bring Happy safely back to the ground as soon as the repairs had been completed. Sylvester, Skye and Walter waited by the main computers, tablets and laptops already wired in and prepared for the recalibration."

"I swear, every time I turn my back, one of them is in some kind of trouble," Cabe grumbled, his eyes scanning the room quickly in case one of them decided to try another crazy stunt. Coulson laughed.

"Try adding top-secret technology to that mix," he joked. Cabe raised his eyebrows. "Oh. That bad?"

"Let's just say that there are a few government organizations that aren't our biggest fans."

"How are you handling fraternization between team members?" Coulson inquired, changing the subject.

"Do you know it's happening or do you just think it is?" Cabe countered.

"I'm not sure that it is yet, but I'm under the impression that it will soon. You see those two?" he gestured to Fitzsimmons, who were focused completely on the work of their dwarfs. Cabe nodded. "They've been referred to as 'Fitzsimmons' since before I even met them. He's got a thing for her, but I don't really know if she feels the same way. The British are impossible to read."

"You're worried about those two? Take it from me – those two will be fine. If they're anything like my team, they'll spend the next few months denying everything. You won't have to worry about it for a while yet," Cabe reassured. Coulson chuckled.

"Good to know."

"And with that, we should be all set. You should have no problem getting to your mystery destination," Walter announced.

"Well, in that case, we'll be on our way. Coulson," Cabe announced, shaking the other man's hand.

"Do we really have to go?" Sylvester asked, a whine teasing at the edge of his voice.

"Can't you just come see the lab?" Simmons proposed.

"They've got a fully functional lab on board," Walter explained. "It would be amazing to see." Cabe exchanged a quick glance with Paige, weighing the options, uncertain if unleashing his team on the plane was the wisest choice. He looked at Ralph for a moment, and his resolve faltered. There was no way he could deny the young boy this opportunity.

"Don't touch anything," Cabe warned. "And anyone who's not back in the van in five minutes will have to find their own way back to the garage. Clear?" The team was too excited to do much more than run away excitedly, throwing calls of thanks over their shoulders as they left.

"Here's my card," Coulson offered. The card held his name and a number without any other information. "Feel free to reach out if you need anything, professional or otherwise."

"Same goes for you," Cabe agreed. "You know how to reach us." Coulson nodded. The two men shook hands.

"Did you two have a nice chat?" May teased, stepping up beside Coulson as Cabe and his team drove away.

"It was very informative."

 **Author's Note:** Hope you enjoyed this! I had a great time writing the teams together, although it was quite a few people to deal with. I may write some little scenes featuring members of both teams in the future, though – there are some fun possibilities. Leave a review if you want!


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